TeleTech to Close Sept. 20

Hundreds of call center workers losing jobs

July 3, 2013

MOUNDSVILLE - Employees at TeleTech Customer Care Management in Moundsville received 90-day notices last week and were told operations will cease Sept. 20.

During a Marshall County Commission meeting Tuesday, county and economic development officials confirmed employees at the Moundsville location were given their federally mandated 90-day notices during a staff meeting June 28.

Commissioner Brian Schambach said despite the less-than-positive writing on the wall, the county and Regional Economic Development Partnership will continue to work to keep the company in Moundsville.

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Photo by J.W. Johnson Jr.Marshall County officials confirmed Tuesday that employees at TeleTech in Moundsville were given 90-day notices last week.

"We will do whatever we can," Schambach said.

But Jeanna Blatt, spokeswoman for Teletech's corporate office in Denver, said the location will close due to a decline in call volume, streamlined processes and changing business needs of clients. In total, roughly 260 employees will be laid off as of Sept. 20.

"In an effort to minimize the impact to our employees and the community, TeleTech will work with employees throughout the transition period," Blatt said. "TeleTech will provide separation pay and employment assistance to eligible employees."

TeleTech opened its 58,000-square-foot call center in Marshall County in May 1998. Initially, the center hired 125 agents and later expanded to more than 500 employees. According to Workforce West Virginia, it the sixth-largest employer in the county in 2012.

While it has consistently been one of the top 10 employers in the county, numbers from Workforce West Virginia show TeleTech's state rankings have declined in recent years, despite expansion at its Morgantown facility, which opened in April 2000. Those figures indicate TeleTech was the 37th largest employer in the state in 2012.

The TeleTech building located near W.Va. 2 in Moundsville is owned by Wheeling-based RED. Earlier this year, Williams Partners began occupying portions of that building for its natural gas and oil operations as part of a $4.5 million investment in the county.